Verlag des Forschungszentrums Jülich
JUEL-3540
Weiss, Ute
Funktionelle Kernspintomographie von Emotionen schizophrener Patienten
183 S., 1998
Several studies have reported impaired emotion processing in schizophrenic patients. Yet, the corresponding functional cerebral correlates of such an impairment remain, so far, elusive, leaving the neurobiological basis of their affective symptoms unknown. Two equally divided groups of males and females comprising 26 schizophrenic patients and 26 controls were inves-tigated with a happy and sad mood induction procedure, as well as an activating non-emotional (neutral) control task. Controls were matched for gender, age and parental education. Func-tional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was utilized to examine brain activity in subcortical and cortical regions. The psychopathology of patients was assessed with standardized symp-tom scales. Subjective ratings revealed an expected mood induction effect for each experimen-tal group irrespective of sex. Group differences demonstrated a significant stronger mood in-duction effect for sadness in normal controls. Analysis of fMRI data showed brain activity in the amygdala of normal controls during negative affect, thereby corresponding to previous neuroimaging findings. However, this effect was only present in the group of healthy males. Females demonstrated more cortical activation (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex). Correlations of subjective ratings with fMRI signal intensities were significant for controls: blood flow in-creases in the amygdala during sadness were accompanied by stronger feelings of negative mood. Unlike controls, amygdala activation was not found in schizophrenic patients during sad mood induction despite matched ratings reflecting similar negative affect. Recognizing that structural abnormalities exist in the amygdala of schizophrenic patients, the results provide new evidence of functional abnormalities in the limbic system.
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